Metabolic Mind

The terms “low-carb” and “ketogenic” are often used interchangeably, but are they the same thing? Not quite. A low-carb diet can be a powerful tool for improving blood sugar, triglycerides, insulin levels, inflammation, and overall metabolic health. Ketogenic diets, on the other hand, involve a deeper level of carbohydrate reduction that shifts the body into nutritional ketosis, where ketones beco...

Starting college can change almost everything about your routine, including how, when, and what you eat. For students using ketogenic therapy as part of their mental health treatment, that transition can take some planning. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with licensed mental health counselor Nicole Laurent about how students using ketogenic therapy with clinical support can navigate a co...

Every day, we make choices about what to eat. But how often do we realize how deeply these choices affect both our physical and mental health? Today, an estimated 93% of adults in America are showing signs of poor metabolic health, which is a major contributor to many chronic conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and many psychiatric disorders. The good news is that more people...

Do most people really need to eat less protein to live longer? In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher responds to a new review getting attention for the claim that protein restriction may extend lifespan, and explains why that message can be misleading for older adults, active people, and anyone focused on metabolic health. Dr. Scher walks through the biology behind the headlines, inclu...

Can ketogenic therapy be safe for someone with heart disease, atherosclerosis, or a stent? Can you follow a ketogenic diet without losing weight? In this Metabolic Mailbag episode, Dr. Bret Scher answers viewer questions about ketogenic therapy, cardiovascular risk, anorexia recovery, pregnancy and nursing, schizophrenia remission, keto on a budget, and whether doctors learn about ketogenic therap...

How can clinicians use real-world patient data to personalize metabolic health care? In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Jeff Pua, an internal medicine and obesity medicine physician, about obesity medicine, metabolic syndrome, nutritional ketosis, and what clinicians can learn from patient outcomes in everyday practice. Dr. Pua shares how his approach has evolved fro...

Can chronic stress undermine metabolic health, even when nutrition, sleep, and exercise are in place? In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher explains why stress recovery is an important part of metabolic health and how chronic cortisol and adrenaline activation may affect insulin resistance, blood pressure, inflammation, sleep, and long-term cardiometabolic health. Dr. Scher breaks down...

Could GLP-1 medications play a role in treating bulimia or binge eating disorder? In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Paige Gordon and psychiatrist Dr. Michael Lutter about Paige’s personal experience using a GLP-1 medication for treatment-resistant bulimia, and why researchers are beginning to explore the neurobiology of binge eating. Paige shares how years of therapy an...

Can ketogenic therapy improve symptoms, cognition, and metabolic health in people living with serious mental illness? In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Judy Ford, Juliette Kyner (previously Juliette Ward), and Dr. Shebani Sethi about the first-ever randomized controlled trial of a ketogenic diet intervention in individuals living with schizophrenia spectrum disorder...

Do GLP-1 medications improve metabolic health as much as they support weight loss? A new observational study in the Annals of Internal Medicine raises an important question about semaglutide, insulin discontinuation, type 2 diabetes, and what meaningful metabolic improvement may require. In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher breaks down a real-world study of more than 9,000 veterans wi...

The questions around ketogenic therapy keep getting more layered, and your latest submissions reflect that. In this Metabolic Mailbag episode, Dr. Bret Scher and producer Erica Gerard tackle some of the most common questions about insulin resistance, ketosis, bone health, and a fun rapid-fire round on popular ketogenic products and practices. In this discussion, you'll learn: The difference betwee...

What does it look like to put bipolar II disorder into remission and become a voice of hope for others living with serious mental illness? Robyn Dobbins joins Hannah Warren from Metabolic Mind to reflect on how ketogenic therapy transformed her life, and what it was like to see her own story featured in The Cholesterol Code documentary. In this conversation, you'll learn: What it was like for Roby...

How do you know if you're actually in ketosis? Should you test ketones? And if so, what's the best method: blood, breath, or urine? Dr. Bret Scher breaks down everything you need to know about ketone testing, including when testing matters, which tools are most accurate, and how to interpret your results based on your goals. Whether you're using a ketogenic diet for metabolic health, weight loss,...

Could metabolic therapies become part of the future of cancer care? That question sits at the center of Dr. Bret Scher’s conversation with neurologist and researcher Dr. Matthew Phillips, whose recent study explored a metabolic approach in people with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Rather than relying on a single intervention, the study combined a ketogenic diet, i...

Can a ketogenic diet help improve mood and reduce depressive symptoms? A new meta-analysis published in JAMA Psychiatry examined 50 different keto studies, totaling over 40,000 participants, that included depression and anxiety outcomes. The results of the review demonstrated a modest improvement in depression symptoms across different populations and diagnoses in both controlled and real-world sc...

Do GLP-1 medications like Ozempic reduce physical activity? Preliminary research suggests they might, raising important questions about how exercise should be supported alongside treatment. GLP-1 medications are helping many people achieve meaningful weight loss and metabolic improvements. At the same time, findings presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting showed declines in daily steps...

Could a ketogenic diet and low-dose GLP-1 medications work better together? A new case series suggests they might, while highlighting a more personalized approach to metabolic health. GLP-1 medications have transformed obesity treatment, but they aren't the only tool available. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with physician assistant Bill Jensen about a newly published case series explori...

What does it take to truly understand and assess cardiovascular risk in modern medicine? Dr. Bret Scher joins Dr. Ford Brewer at the Collaborative Science (CoSci) conference to discuss the recent screening of The Cholesterol Code documentary and the bigger picture of metabolic health, cardiac imaging, and the future of risk assessment. In this conversation, you'll learn: Dr. Ford Brewer's reaction...

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that can often be put into remission. So why do so many people still struggle to get better? In this discussion, Dr. Bret Scher explores how the environments we create, from our food system to our healthcare system, shape metabolic health in ways that are often overlooked. Using a thought experiment as a starting point, he examines why remission is possible for...

Dr. Bret Scher began his career practicing conventional cardiology, following the same guidelines taught in medical training. Today, he is Medical Director at Metabolic Mind, as well as The Coalition for Metabolic Health, and one of the leading voices advancing metabolic health, ketogenic therapy, and metabolic psychiatry. What changed? In this special episode, Metabolic Mind producer Erica Gerard...

What questions matter most to people living with serious mental illness when it comes to metabolic interventions? Dr. Dina Farran and Dr. Toby Pillinger from King's College London set out to answer exactly that through a Priority Setting Partnership, an extensive collaborative process bringing together people with lived experience, family members, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers to identif...

A recent study made headlines for claiming a ketogenic diet may worsen fatty liver disease and raise triglycerides. But when you take a closer look at the research, it’s clear that the conclusions are far less supported than the coverage suggests. To clear things up, Dr. Bret Scher breaks down what the study actually found, where the methodology falls short, and what the broader body of research h...

Is a plant-based diet the best for supporting metabolic health? Cardiologist Dr. Jaimela Dulaney spent years practicing plant-based nutrition before her own experience with insulin resistance, blood sugar swings, and endurance running led her to rethink what personalized nutrition can look like. In this episode, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Dulaney about what changed her perspective, both person...

Metabolic health may be the foundation of a healthy brain, and a growing community of researchers, clinicians, and educators is working to bring that message into mainstream medicine. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher talks with Dr. Dom D'Agostino at the Citizen Science Initiative (CoSci) conference to discuss everything from the recent screening of The Cholesterol Code documentary to the rise of...

New results from first-of-its-kind randomized controlled trial on a ketogenic diet for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychosis offer important insights into metabolic psychiatry and mental health treatment. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher sits down with Dr. Julie Milder to walk through the study results, recently published in Schizophrenia Bulletin . As the first RCT in psychosis-spect...